Superior sweet oranges for varietal diversification of tropical rainfed orchards

Citrus orchards in northeastern Brazil are mostly rainfed and comprised basically of ‘Pera CNPMF D-6’ sweet orange budded on ‘Rangpur’ lime, for the drought tolerance productivity imparted by this rootstock. Therefore, selection new varieties is needed to broaden genetic basis citrus cultivated region. Accordingly, study compared vegetative, productive, fruit quality traits eight scions grafted lime over eleven years under tropical conditions Brazil. ‘Kona’ trees excelled yield performance associated with bulk canopy, precocity, intermediate acidity, high vitamin C contents spite proneness alternate yields low ratio (maturity index). ‘Valencia Montemorelos’ ‘Rubi’ trees, turn, had performances coupled canopies, fruit, acidity (‘Rubi’) contents, propensity fluctuation (‘Valencia Montemorelos’), precocity (‘Rubi’), albeit ratio. Overall, our results emphasize ‘Kona,’ Montemorelos,’ as superior diversification their outstanding good quality.